Recommend a good dumbell weight set

[Arkitech]

I need to buy a good set of dumbells today, anyone have recommendations on a good brand? I used to have an old set a few years ago, but the locks would never work properly.


Anyone know of a site with various dumbell exercises?

 

[Arkitech]

up

 

[edro]

Get one of those Gold's Gym sets from Wal-Mart... they seem to be decent. (I'm talking the large Olympic style, black with yellow Logo. Not the little grey set.)

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: edro13
Get one of those Gold's Gym sets from Wal-Mart... they seem to be decent. (I'm talking the large Olympic style, black with yellow Logo. Not the little grey set.)

Cool, I'll check those out. Do you know how much weight are in those sets?

 

[edro]

All the ones I have seen sell the plates individually... They might have a complete set though. They're not on Wal-Mart.com that I can see...

 

[twobrain]

costco had nautilus dumbell set with the rack for like 200-300 i forget how much...

last year they had a rack wtih pulley, bench, olympic weights/bars for 300... i think they only have the smith machine now for like 600ish

but this coudl just be regional...

saw it in north jersey

 

[Jpark]

barbells are just one set amount of weight, dumbells you can always add weight later. if you go with dumbells make sure you get good locks.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: jpark932
barbells are just one set amount of weight, dumbells you can always add weight later. if you go with dumbells make sure you get good locks.

All of the barbells I've seen the weights can be changed just like dumbells.

 

[Arkitech]

up

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

How much room do you have? If you're really tight on space you could get a set of power blocks.

 

[3chordcharlie]

If you're only going to have one, get dumbells.

You use a lot more stabilizing muscles with dumbells, and you can do more effective exercises than just with a bar.

For something like a chest workout, I'd compare it to the difference between free weights and machine weights in terms of the increased use of stabilizing muscles.

 

[blackdogdeek]

if you're going to be training by yourself i'd recommend dumbells.

actually, i've also always felt i got a better workout with dumbells. as others have said you use more stabilizing muscles. you also can't favor one side any more than the other.

Originally posted by: jpark932
barbells are just one set amount of weight, dumbells you can always add weight later. if you go with dumbells make sure you get good locks.

the home ones i've seen allow you to change the weight with plates and locks.

 

[edro]

Dumbells are much more versitile than barbells. You can do everything with dumbells that you can with barbells, but you can't do everything with barbells that you can with dumbells.

What are the 4-5 main things to do with barbells? Bench press, Curls, Dead Lift, Skull Crushers, Bent Over Rows... You can do all that with dumbells. The only limitting factor I see is the Dead Lift.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: M0oG0oGaiPan
How much room do you have? If you're really tight on space you could get a set of power blocks.

What are powerblocks, I've never heard of those?

 

[ThaPerculator]

costco had nautilus dumbell set with the rack for like 200-300 i forget how much...

I used to have a Nautilus power rack setup (like $400) I got from costco 2 years ago, but through 2 years of lifting 5x a week and using too much weight I bent the hell out of the leg extension attachment. I literally maxed out the amount of weight that thing could hold, as I had 4x45's 1x35 1x10 and 1x5 on there with no collar, because it wouldn't fit, and I'd do like 4 sets of 12 (no negatives) with it because it wasn't heavy enough. I took it back to costco and bought the newest smith machine/power rack setup they have and it is pretty damn good. Definately an upgrade, but I miss using a smith-less straight bar for benching.

Anyways, what I'm saying is buy your stuff from costco, cuz they are a great American company and have the best return policy of ANYWHERE. They pay their employees well, treat their customers well, and sell stuff at a good price for the most part.


To answer your question though, get both. Get an olympic barbell set (make sure its olympic... you'll thank me later if you stick to working out) and buy 2 dumbell bars for it for like $40 bucks. Dumbells are great, but you can't quite do compound movements that are essential such as the Squat and the Deadlift. Don't get the screw-on kind, because they don't stay tight no matter what you do. If your clamps ever get loose, buy new, tighter ones. It's not rocket science.

What are the 4-5 main things to do with barbells? Bench press, Curls, Dead Lift, Skull Crushers, Bent Over Rows... You can do all that with dumbells. The only limitting factor I see is the Dead Lift.

Try doing heavy squats or deads with dumbells... I want to see it. Have fun getting a 150lb. dumbell in each hand, somehow getting it above your shoulder, and squatting it. Yes, I know there are ways to squat with dumbells hanging, but it's not quite the same.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
if you're going to be training by yourself i'd recommend dumbells.

actually, i've also always felt i got a better workout with dumbells. as others have said you use more stabilizing muscles. you also can't favor one side any more than the other.

I'm going to give a big "2nd" to that comment.

Dumbells give a much better workout because each arm must stabilize the weight. Almost anybody can bench 150 lbs with a bar, I use that for a light warmup. But try benching 75 lb dumbells. If you haven't done it before the weights will want to fall over in all directions. 200 lbs on a bar is a good weight to do, but not many people can bench 100 lb. dumbells.

 

[ThaPerculator]

Dumbells give a much better workout because each arm must stabilize the weight. Almost anybody can bench 150 lbs with a bar, I use that for a light warmup. But try benching 75 lb dumbells. If you haven't done it before the weights will want to fall over in all directions. 200 lbs on a bar is a good weight to do, but not many people can bench 100 lb. dumbells.

The only problem is if you buy a dumbell set, you aren't going to even get close to 75's with it. The average dumbell set doesn't even go up to 50 lbs. You are eventually going to have to buy either new cast dumbells, or if it is adjustable, you'd have to buy new plates anyways defeating the purpose of getting the set in the first place. The cheapest route is to buy a 300lb. barbell/plate set, and then get some oly dumbell bars. Kill 2 birds with one stone, and get more versatility for the future.

 

[3chordcharlie]

I forgot to mention you're also much safer working alone with dumbells than with barbells.

 

[Arkitech]

/taking notes

 

[m4ch0dude]

It really depends on what workout you do. For example, dumbells are good for shoulder workouts, and you can go all out w/o a spotter, but for stuff like squats you really need a barbell. But if you can only get one, I'd go with the dumbells.

 

[imported_vr6]

dumbells eliminates the need for a spotter, for the most part. you can just drop the weight and make sure u don't hit your foot.

however, with dumbells, I would have to start my collection from 15lbs all the way up to 100lbs, which would be very expensive.

 

[ThaPerculator]

I forgot to mention you're also much safer working alone with dumbells than with barbells.

Most. Ridiculous. Comment. Ever.

If you know what you're doing, have proper equipment, and take proper precautions they are equally the same. The idiots that die from trying to max and having it choke them to death are just that, idiots. These are the retards you see in the gym with wayyyyy too mugh weight on who need to do "two-man-rows" while benching. They are also the same idiots who drop the dumbells because they are too heavy to set them down.

I had a guy in my weights class back in high school workout with dumbells, and when he clanked them together the weld failed and half of a 50lb dumbell fell on his face breaking his orbital socket and giving him a massive concussion. It was pretty nasty.

Moral of the story? If you are lifting by yourself, verify the integrity of your equipment, schedule your workout to be within reasonable weight guidelines, and remember to not be an idiot.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: ThaPerculator

I forgot to mention you're also much safer working alone with dumbells than with barbells.

Most. Ridiculous. Comment. Ever.

If you know what you're doing, have proper equipment, and take proper precautions they are equally the same. The idiots that die from trying to max and having it choke them to death are just that, idiots. These are the retards you see in the gym with wayyyyy too mugh weight on who need to do "two-man-rows" while benching. They are also the same idiots who drop the dumbells because they are too heavy to set them down.

I had a guy in my weights class back in high school workout with dumbells, and when he clanked them together the weld failed and half of a 50lb dumbell fell on his face breaking his orbital socket and giving him a massive concussion. It was pretty nasty.

Moral of the story? If you are lifting by yourself, verify the integrity of your equipment, schedule your workout to be within reasonable weight guidelines, and remember to not be an idiot.

oh man, I thought I had bad luck.

 

[Arkitech]

Anyone have a full body routine or schedule using only dumbells?

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: ThaPerculator

I forgot to mention you're also much safer working alone with dumbells than with barbells.

Most. Ridiculous. Comment. Ever.

If you know what you're doing, have proper equipment, and take proper precautions they are equally the same. The idiots that die from trying to max and having it choke them to death are just that, idiots. These are the retards you see in the gym with wayyyyy too mugh weight on who need to do "two-man-rows" while benching. They are also the same idiots who drop the dumbells because they are too heavy to set them down.

I had a guy in my weights class back in high school workout with dumbells, and when he clanked them together the weld failed and half of a 50lb dumbell fell on his face breaking his orbital socket and giving him a massive concussion. It was pretty nasty.

Moral of the story? If you are lifting by yourself, verify the integrity of your equipment, schedule your workout to be within reasonable weight guidelines, and remember to not be an idiot.

It's not ridiculous at all - even using proper technique and the right amount of weight, you CAN slip.

With a dumbell, you never have a bar across your body, so you always have the opportunity to avoid serious injury, even if you do slip (your story involes 'too much weight' which is definitely more dangerous than your choice of dumbells or barbells, no question).

The only thing I would really hesitate to do with a bar alone is a chest workout, but I would hesitate, because there is some risk involved - it's a low risk if you're smart about it, but it's a low risk of a very serious injury.